The number of people affected by diabetes worldwide is on the rise -- and with it, the price tag for everything touched by the disease.

Estimates have put the numbers as high as 552 million for those who could have diabetes by 2030, and as is shown in the chart above, certain countries are facing a more difficult time with it than others. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has 34 countries in its membership, including the top five countries with diabetes: Mexico, United States, Portugal, Canada and Germany. The organization is starting to sound the alarm on the projected impact.

At the European Diabetes Leadership Forum in Copenhagen today, OECD Deputy Director General Yves Leterme stated, "Preventing and treating diabetes and its complications costs about €90 billion annually in Europe alone. With health budgets already under great pressure and national budgets severely strained, for the sake of our health and the health of our economies we must find ways to prevent and manage diabetes in a cost-effective manner."

In the United States, the current direct and indirect costs of diabetes total $174 billion annually, with experts predicting a total of $3.4 trillion by the time the year 2020 rolls around. In Canada, the number is estimated to reach $16.9 billion annually by the end of the decade.

$174 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2007 ($116 billion for direct medical costs, $58 billion for indirect costs [disability, work loss, premature mortality])
Source: American Diabetes Association

Approximately $11.6 billion, based on a 2000 figure of $6.3 billion, and a projected figure of $16.9 billion by 2020.
Source: Canadian Diabetes Association

$15.1 billion, in direct and indirect costs
Source: The New York Times

Estimated €43.2 billion ($57 billion) for direct annual costs
Source: The London School of Economics and Political Science

Approximately $36 billion, based on 2.1% of the country's $1.73 trillion GDP
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit; World Bank

$11.7 billion in 2003, when 5.1% of the population had diabetes. Recent figures show it is closet to 8%.
Sources: Korean Diabetes Association, Diabetes and Metabolism Journal.

United States$174 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2007 ($116 billion for direct medical costs, $58 billion for indirect costs [disability, work loss, premature mortality])
Source: American Diabetes Association

Canada
Approximately $11.6 billion, based on a 2000 figure of $6.3 billion, and a projected figure of $16.9 billion by 2020.
Source: Canadian Diabetes Association

Mexico$15.1 billion, in direct and indirect costs
Source: The New York Times

Germany
Estimated €43.2 billion ($57 billion) for direct annual costs
Source: The London School of Economics and Political Science

India
Approximately $36 billion, based on 2.1% of the country's $1.73 trillion GDP
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit; World Bank

South Korea$11.7 billion in 2003, when 5.1% of the population had diabetes. Recent figures show it is closet to 8%
Sources: Korean Diabetes Association, Diabetes and Metabolism Journal.